Sweet Victory! Learn Which Bogus Tests on Animals We Ended in Taiwan
Update (February 26, 2024): Victory! Animals will no longer be used in cruel experiments conducted by companies wanting to make dubious blood-iron health claims for marketing their food or beverage products in Taiwan.
After receiving more than 24,000 e-mails from our supporters about the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration’s draft blood-iron claim regulation, the agency finalized this ruling and removed animal testing as an option for companies to pursue. Now, only safe and effective human tests are required and allowed for this purpose.
But we need your help to persuade major food and beverage companies in Taiwan to end horrific experiments on animals conducted in attempts to establish other human-health claims for marketing their products. Collectively, these companies have force-fed, electroshocked, drowned, starved, bled, poisoned, dissected, and/or killed more than 8,000 animals in such tests over the past two decades.
Original post:
The Taiwanese government is on the cusp of finally and compassionately doing away with a gruesome test on baby rats to support dubious blood-iron health claims in food and beverage products sold in Taiwan. We’d like all PETA supporters to please show your support for getting rid of this pointless and deadly test.
The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) currently recommends that food and beverage companies perform experiments on baby rats. Specifically, the TFDA recommends that experimenters feed month-old rats an iron-deficient diet to induce anemia, feed them the test food, and repeatedly take their blood. At the end of the experiment, the babies are often killed.
That’s about to change.
Following years of pressure from PETA, the TFDA has announced a revised draft of this regulation that doesn’t require any animal experimentation and that would spare countless animals. It is a compassionate step in the right direction and would represent another win for animals.
But the regulation isn’t final. The agency is accepting public comments through December 14. A short, kind letter of support from you could help ensure that no additional animals suffer and die to make food and beverage companies more money.
Your Support Makes Positive Change
Pressure from PETA has helped ensure numerous other wins for animals in Taiwan: Scores of vulnerable animals no longer are drowned or electroshocked or bred to develop hypertension in order for companies to make anti-fatigue or blood pressure–lowering health claims for food and beverages, and the TFDA now prioritizes internationally recognized, non-animal tests to assess food safety. PETA is also pushing the TFDA to amend a draft regulation prohibiting health food companies from mutilating rats for joint-protection health claims.
PETA is leading a global trend against animal testing after persuading dozens of food and beverage companies, including some major companies in Taiwan, to end (or commit to never starting) experiments on animals.
The comment period is now closed. Thank you to all who took action! We’ll keep you updated.
